Indian ascetics

[Sam Garg]

Found the first paragraph to be informative.  Unfortunately, the rest
appears to be in jest or a typographical error.

>They are quite likely to be people who have migrated into towns and >cities
>in search of employment, but who have found being a mendicant >a better
>business proposition.

Of course, a skeletal body; weather beaten, insect bitten, dehydrated skin;
calloused soles; matted hair etc clearly indicate a much 'better business
proposition.' Highly recommended as a choice alternative vocation or even as
a supplement to your day job!

>Pictures of such mendicants are v. popular, especially if they are >taking
>in a deep whiff from a chillum or a hookah.

Sorry I missed those pictures since tourism literature appear to be target
marketing the nudist, pot smoking hippie.

>It creates a picture of Hinduism/India as still wholly exotic and >very
>mysterious.

Of course, now we are on to these 'mendicants'.  In fact, they are actually
unemployed, frustrated business people and/ or homeless vagrants.

I'm sure this last part must(?) be supported by meticulous research....


>From: Vidyasankar Sundaresan <vsundaresan at HOTMAIL.COM>
>Reply-To: Indology <INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK>
>To: INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK
>Subject: Re: Indian ascetics
>Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2000 09:23:47 PDT
>
>>I have a very naive question about the Indian ascetics: we see on many
>>photographs of Indian streets naked mendicant ascetics coated with ash,
>>etc.  Do these people belong to some particular sect?  Can we say that
>>most
>>of them belong to the Naatha sect, for example?
>
>Not without looking for more specific signs. Most of the naked mendicants
>coated with ash and with matted hair would be Naga sannyasis. However, this
>is nothing more than giving a name to a thing, because the word Naga comes
>from nagna = naked. For assigning a sect affiliation more specifically, you
>have to look for things such as whether they wear earrings (and what kind),
>whether they have specific marks on their foreheads, whether they carry a
>human skull with them or not, whether they smoke derivatives of cannabis or
>not, whether they cry out "Alakh Niranjan" or "Jai Bholenath". If you were
>to go ask those who maintain and study at the Nathpanthi monasteries, they
>will disclaim any affiliation with the vast majority of the street
>mendicants.
>
>Nowadays, a safe bet would be that the greater portion of such people on
>the
>streets simply represents a homeless population without any great
>personal/religious compulsion to have become a monk. Their sectarian
>affiliations are strictly udara-nimitta. They are quite likely to be people
>who have migrated into towns and cities in search of employment, but who
>have found being a mendicant a better business proposition. Pictures of
>such
>mendicants are v. popular, especially if they are taking in a deep whiff
>from a chillum or a hookah. It creates a picture of Hinduism/India as still
>wholly exotic and very mysterious. And this is not limited to producers of
>tourist literature. You will rarely see pictures of the Sankaracharyas or
>the Srivaishnava Jeers or the Mahants of other orders. Contrast that with
>nice glossy pictures of the Dalai Lama in books on Buddhism!
>
>Vidyasankar
>______________________________________________________
>Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com